We use cookies to operate the website and for analytics. By staying on the site, you agree to their use. Learn more
Interiors by room
A children's room is designed to grow with the child, but that doesn't mean leaving decisions for later. The bed, desk and storage change several times over ten years, while the sockets, lighting and layout stay put, so the design leaves room to adapt: power for a future desk, lighting that will outlast a change of furniture, a neutral base for décor that will keep changing.
Second, light for studying. A desk needs directional light with no glare on the screen and no shadow from the writing hand, and that means a separate lighting circuit, not a desk lamp added to the ambient lighting. Third, materials: in a children's room they're chosen for how well they survive cleaning and a patch repair on one section of wall.
























A children's room is designed not for the child's current age but with the next few years in mind: a cot will eventually give way to a full-size bed, a play table to a desk for schoolwork, and sockets and lighting can't be moved every time the furniture changes. So power for a future desk is planned in advance, even if a playpen or play mat stands there now, and the wall and floor finishes are chosen to be neutral enough that décor and textiles can be changed without redecorating.
The desk in a children's room gets directional light with no glare on the monitor and no shadow from the writing hand, so it needs its own lighting circuit rather than a lamp added to the room's ambient lighting. Where the desk sits in relation to the window and this light fitting is worked out at the layout stage, not when the furniture goes in after the renovation: light from the left for a right-handed child and from the right for a left-handed one usually works best, and it is far easier to plan for in advance than to fix later by swapping the desk and the bed round.
In our projects, the finishes in a children's room are chosen for how well they survive cleaning, drawings on the wall and a repair to one section without redecorating the whole room: washable surfaces and repairable coatings are more practical than decorative finishes that can't take a damp cloth. The floor is chosen to feel warm underfoot and stand up to dropped toys, not just to match the colour palette of the rest of the home.
Storage in a children's room is usually modular: lower sections for the toys needed now, upper ones for things the child will grow into and be able to reach in a few years. The clothes rail in the wardrobe is often height-adjustable, so at first an adult hangs up the clothes, and years later the child can do it without a stool.